The Black Twins
by RecoveryxZero
Summary: When Walburga Black gave birth to twins, nobody expected them to turn out how they did. Sirius and Amaris Black are more than a handful, and when they begin attending Hogwarts and become unlikely friends with James, Peter, and Remus, surely only chaos can follow.
1. Year One

Two almost identical children stood before their mother on platform 9 ¾. The only reason you could truly tell the pair apart was the difference in their gender. The girl's hair was a little longer than her brother's and she was shorter and a little more frail. Their faces sported the exact same features though with only slight differences. Their cold grey eyes stared up at their mother who glanced down at them haughtily. Walburga Black didn't want to admit it, but she was concerned about how her twins would make the family appear. She knew her children didn't fit the mold of the Black name, and she hoped that maybe Hogwarts would be able to sort the two of them out. "Now, you two are going to behave yourselves and not disgrace the family name, do you understand me?"

The two eleven-year-old twins nodded mutely at their mother. "Good. Now I'd suggest you go find your cousin Narcissa and stick close to her." Walburga urged her children toward the Hogwarts express and as soon as they stepped on, she spun on her heel and disappeared off the platform.

The pair watched her leave through the open door, and as soon as she was out of sight, Amaris turned toward her brother. "Do we really have to go find Cissy?" she asked, glancing up at her brother.

"Of course not," Sirius reassured his twin. "Come on, let's go find somewhere to sit." The pair wandered through the train, peering into already full cabins. Soon, they found one that had three students sitting inside that looked to be their age. Grabbing his sister's hand, Sirius pulled the door open. "Sorry to interrupt, but everywhere else was full. Do you mind if we join you?" he asked, eyeing the kid with glasses warily.

"That's fine," the black haired boy responded. Sirius grinned and flopped down onto the seat beside him. He hadn't left enough room for Amaris to sit, and she awkwardly glanced at the pair sitting on the bench opposite Sirius. There was a space open beside the boy with sandy brown hair and scars donning his features. Amaris glanced at him with wide eyes, not sure what to do. He gave her a small smile and motioned for her to sit beside him. Warily, Amaris took the offered seat and gave a small glare to her brother for his betrayal.

Sirius just grinned back at her before turning to the boy he sat beside. "I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Sirius, and that's my sister Amaris." Amaris gave a small wave to everyone as they glanced between her and her brother. "If you couldn't tell, we're new here."

"So are we," the boy sitting beside Sirius responded. At that, everyone fell into easy conversation. The black haired boy introduced himself as James Potter, and the two sitting beside Amaris were Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. James spoke a little bit of his family before questioning Sirius and Amaris about theirs. "I didn't catch your last name," he commented, staring at them curiously.

Amaris began fiddling with her hands, not knowing exactly what to say. She pursed her lips as she locked eyes with Sirius. "Didn't mention it," Sirius replied, giving James an even stare.

James gave the twins an odd look. "Well, what is it? Can't be that bad now, can it?"

"Black," Amaris muttered, staring at the floor.

In the compartment, James was the only one to look surprised. He glanced back and forth between Amaris and Sirius a few times before muttering, "I've heard my father talking about your family before. Said some really nasty things about you lot."

Sirius merely shrugged. "They were probably all true. Our family is generations worth of Slytherins."

The compartment was silent for a second before James spoke up again. "That's a shame. The two of you seemed rather normal. Is that where you're hoping to wind up? Slytherin?"

Both twins looked as though they wanted to vomit. Amaris shouted, "Anything but!" as Sirius said, "Merlin, no."

Satisfied with their answers, James ginned at them once again. "Maybe there's a chance we could wind up in the same house, then." He pointed at himself with a wide grin spreading across his features. "I'm hoping to get put in Gryffindor just like my dad was." Everyone broke into laughter at James theatrics and they all slipped back into the light conversation about what houses they wanted to be placed in.

Amaris stood beside her brother, holding his hand nervously as she stared at the stool another first year was sitting on in front of their group. The large patchwork hat that rested on the girl's head moved a little bit before one of the seams split open. "Hufflepuff!" It bellowed, and the Great Hall exploded with applause. Professor McGonagall removed the hat from her head and glanced back at the list she held in her hands.

"Black, Amaris," McGonagall stated. Sirius gave her hand a light squeeze before releasing his sister. Taking a deep breath, Amaris stepped forward and sat on the stool. As the hat was placed on her head, she glanced over toward the Slytherin table where her cousin sat, watching expectantly.

_Oh my,_ a voiced echoed in her head. _I thought this would be rather simple. Usually a Black is sent to Slytherin, but I see you are very different from the rest. You have opposing views of those of your family, don't you? Very well._ The voice stilled and shouted for the entire room to hear, "Gryffindor!" Amaris froze when she saw Narcissa's expression sour. She quickly looked away and as the hat was removed from her head, Amaris glanced at Sirius worriedly. He grinned at his sister, and Amaris hopped off the stool, heading toward the rowdy table that was clapping for her.

Taking a seat near the end of the table, Amaris watched as her brother's name was called next. She chewed her lip nervously as the sorting hat seemed to have the same conflict with Sirius. Amaris let out a breath of relief when the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" With a wide grin, Sirius moved to join his twin. He gave her a tight hug as he sat down beside her. This put Amaris as ease, and they watched as the students were dispersed throughout the houses.

"Lupin, Remus." Both Amaris and Sirius watched carefully as the hat was still on their new friend's head for a moment before sending Remus over to join them at the Gryffindor table. Both twins cheered loudly and grinned at the brunette when he sat down beside Sirius. More names were called, and Amaris didn't really pay that much attention until she heard Peter being called forward. He warily stepped up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on his head, and remained silent. Amaris glanced to Remus and Sirius, concerned. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the sorting hat finally called out Gryffindor and Peter all but leapt off the stool and scurried over to sit across from Amaris.

James was next to be sorted. He strode up to the stool with confidence and sat down. Amaris laughed when she watched the hat barely touch his head before sending James to join his friends at the table. Sirius gave him a high five as James sat across from them. The rest of the sorting ceremony passed quickly, and the hall quieted down as Dumbledore stood before all of them. He welcomed everyone back for another year and welcomed the first years to Hogwarts.

Amaris left her brother and new friends behind and followed the female prefect up to what would be her room for the next seven years of her life. Stepping through the door, Amaris took in the small room with two beds and turned to see the prefect already walking out of the room leaving her standing there with a small redheaded girl. Amaris immediately felt bad that she didn't remember the girl's name and took a small step forward. She held out her hand awkwardly and introduced herself. "I'm Amaris, and I guess we're going to be roommates while were here, huh?"

The redhead chuckled and took Amaris' hand. "I'm Lily, and yeah, looks like it. I'm sure we're going to get along just fine though." Lily beamed at Amaris, and Amaris couldn't help but smile back.

"It's nice to meet you Lily. We should really start unpacking and get ready for tomorrow."

The girls stayed up late, chatting about their lives before Hogwarts and everything they were excited for. Amaris easily left out most things that involved any family member aside from Sirius. Lily didn't seem to know what weight the name Black seemed to hold, and Amaris soon learned it was because both of Lily's parents were muggles. Amaris swore she could hear her mother's voice in the back of her head screaming about how Lily was impure and had no right to be there. Shaking her head to rid it of the screech of her mother, Amaris just smiled at the girl and mentioned they should get some sleep.

Happy Lily agreed with her easily, Amaris tucked herself into her bed and stared out the window, wondering just what this year was going to bring.

Amaris and Lily made their way into the dungeons and stopped outside the door that led to their potions class. "Are they really making us have class in the dungeons?" Lily asked as she pushed the heavy door open.

Amaris chuckled, following her through the door. "At this point, I'm hardly surprised by any of this." The pair glanced around the room, noticing they had potions with the Slytherins. Amaris made a disgusted noise and searched the room for a table with two open seats. When she found none, she gave a concerned look to Lily. Her friend simply shrugged at her and made her way to sit beside a greasy looking Slytherin boy. Now alone, Amaris glanced around the room looking for her brother. Finding him sitting beside Potter, her heart dropped. She sighed, making her way to the empty seat closest to him.

Placing her textbook on the desk behind her brother, Amaris glanced to the boy that was sitting in the chair beside her. She was relieved to see it was Remus. Amaris gave him a bright smile and all but fell into the seat beside him. Remus took in her exhausted appearance and quirked a single brow at her. "Long night?" he asked quietly.

Amaris shrugged. "You could say that." Amaris leaned forward in her seat and swatted at the back of Sirius' head. Sirius spun in his seat, ready to give whoever it was an earful, but when he realized it was his sister, he just gave her a dull look. Amaris rolled her eyes at him and motioned with her head to where Lily sat with her Slytherin friend. Sirius followed her lead and looked to Amaris' roommate. He made a disgusted face seeing her laughing at something the boy had said. Amaris waved her hand in front of Sirius' face to catch his attention once again. Shielding her mouth from Remus, she mouthed the word, _mudblood._

Sirius quickly cuffed Amaris in the side of the head. "Don't use that word," he scolded her. Amaris had heard their mother enough to know exactly what it meant.

Amaris gently rubbed the side of her head. "You know I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's just easier to say." Shaking his head, Sirius turned his back to his sister and began whispering to James. Amaris noticed Remus watching the two of them curiously.

"Are you two always like that?" He eyes the pair carefully, not knowing exactly what he was getting into by considering them his friends.

Smirking back at him, Amaris nodded. "Never a dull moment with us around. I can promise you that."

It was now Monday, and the twins successfully managed to make it through their first week of school without incident. Amaris and Sirius sat in their usual seats beside each other at the table during lunch. Lily sat on Amaris' right side, and James, Peter, and Remus sat across from them. Their laughing was cut short as the large window above them opened and a large group of owls soared into the room. Sirius nudged his sister and pointed upward at a familiar black owl that carried a large, red envelope. "What are the odds that howler is for us?" he asked, smirking at his sister.

Before she could answer, the owl swooped down and dropped the envelope in front of Sirius. "I'd say the odds are pretty good," Amaris said, laughing. James and the others watched in awe as the twins were _actually laughing_ about receiving a howler in the mail.

"Have you two lost your minds?" James asked, motioning toward the envelope that was waiting to be opened.

Sirius and Amaris glanced at each other before responding. "It can't be half as bad as what we hear at home," Sirius explained.

"To be honest, I'm surprised it took this long to get here," Amaris added. Sirius picked up the envelope, glancing at his sister out of the corner of his eye. "Wait, let me guess at what it says before you open it." Amaris cleared her throat and tried her best to imitate her mother's voice. "Sirius Black! And you! Amaris Black! You two are the worst children I could have ever asked for!"

Sirius smacked his sister lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it. You had me worried I'd actually opened it." Rolling her eyes, Amaris motioned for him to just get it over with, and Sirius opened the letter.

The howler flew out of his hands and floated in the air before them. Their mother's voice drifted through the Great Hall. "Sirius Black!" The letter faced Amaris. "And I know you're there too Amaris! Both of you listen, and listen good! You two have been the biggest disgrace the Black family has ever seen! There was only one thing you two had to do this year, and you already messed it up. Absolutely disgraceful! I'd suggest the two of you figure out how to fix yourselves before the year's end. I will not have two children like you bringing such disgrace upon this family!" The howler paused, but it still floated in the air before Sirius.

"Do you think it's done yet?" he asked his sister.

She shook her head, not taking her eyes off the howler. "Nah, you know mother. Always one for being dramatic. She loves her long, drawn out pauses."

Sure enough, the howler picked back up once again. "The two of you will be staying there over the holidays in hopes that you can fix yourselves. If you can't, I will have to remind you what it means to be a Black when the summer begins." With that, the letter exploded in front of the twins, and they glanced at each other.

Amaris was the first to begin laughing, and Sirius soon followed after her. "She's really slipping," Amaris commented. "She only called us a disgrace, what, two times?"

"I believe it was three," Sirius said in between fits of laughter.

"She could've done so much better, but I guess she had to keep it family friendly as the entirety of Hogwarts just heard her screaming at us." Amaris glanced around at the Great Hall and shook her head at the amount of people that were still staring at the twins. Turning back around, she noticed looks the two were receiving from their friends.

"You two just got a howler, and _you're laughing?_" Remus asked, incredulously. He'd known the twins were slightly off from the beginning, but now he was seeing just how off they truly were.

The twins gave Remus a deadpan look and glanced back at each other. "What was it she called you a week before leaving the house?"

Amaris paused, trying to think back to exactly what Sirius was talking about. "Oh, I remember," she began. "A sneaky, lying, little wretch. But not in the good way like I'm supposed to be. I quit being mummy's perfect little angel at what, five years old?" Someone cleared their throat behind the twins, and they bother turned around, taking in Narcissa's looming form.

She smirked down at the pair, glancing only once at the shreds of the howler. "I see your mother received my letter."

The twins sharing a knowing glance before smirking maliciously. "Should've known it was you Cissy," Amaris began.

"Doing the only things you're good at. Spying," Sirius stated easily.

"And being a snitch. I assume you'll be writing to our dear mother again to let her know how well her letter went over with us?" Amaris asked, a sadistic pleasure obvious in her tone.

Narcissa's smirk faded, and a glare took up residence on her face. "I should've expected nothing less from the two of you. You never knew how to properly act. I'm sure you'll be hearing again from your mother soon." Before Narcissa turned to leave, Amaris held up a single finger to her.

"Before you go Cissy, could you be sure to include that Mother could do so much better next time? I didn't feel insulted enough this go-round." Amaris was cackling at her cousin's appalled look.

With disgust, she leaned closer to Amaris. "I'll be sure to let her know just how you two feel." Narcissa spun on her heel and stormed off toward the Slytherin table.

The twins were once again laughing, and Sirius gave his sister and odd look. Quirking a brow Amaris challenged her brother to say what was on his mind. "Come now, Amaris, did you really have to go that far? Mother's going to beat you when you get home for the summer."

Shrugging, Amaris took a bite of her long-forgotten sandwich. When she swallowed, she glanced back over at her brother. "You act like it'll be the first time. And anyways, that's such a long way off Sirius. I'm sure I'm going to do much worse before going home, and don't count yourself out of this yet either. You'll be there right along with me before year's end." Shaking his head, Sirius laughed at his sister knowing it was true.

"How can you two be joking about this?" Lily's voice startled the five of the Gryffindor students that sat around her. "You're talking about your mother screaming at you and—and _beating you_. And then you laugh? What's wrong with you two?"

The pair just looked at Lily for a moment. Her eyes were wide with every emotion possible in that moment. The most prominent were fear, disbelief, and disgust. Amaris shrugged at her half-heartedly. "When you grow up like we did, you just become used to it. It sort of became a game to us."

Sirius placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He understood exactly how she was feeling. "And to be honest, we only have to deal with it for six more summers. As soon as we turn eighteen, the two of us are leaving. Looking at it that way, it truly is a joke to us now."

The table fell into an awkward silence. Trying to lighten the mood, Amaris joked, "Who wants to bet on how long it'll take to get another howler?"

Three days later, a red envelope landed on Amaris' plate. She pointed at James and Sirius, grinning victoriously. "I told you it'd only take three days!" she shouted. Lily, Remus, and Peter glanced down at their food, not wanting any part of what was about to happen. "I do believe you both owe me an essay of my choice." Amaris paused, rethinking her words. "Actually, Sirius, I'll think of something you can do for me later. I don't trust your intelligence to get me a good grade." Before Sirius could hit his sister in the head, she opened the letter.

Just like last time, the howler was in her face, and her mother's familiar shriek filled her ears. "Amaris Anser Black! You disrespectful little girl. I promise, if you step a single toe out of line this year, we will be having a long chat about your behavior come summer. Maybe that will remind you how to properly act!" There was another pause. Amaris simply grabbed her mug of pumpkin juice and took a sip, waiting for her mother to continue on. "You would be wise to heed my words as well Sirius. I know you two are the exact same. You both should hope I don't receive any more letters about your out of line behavior!" With that, the letter exploded, letting shreds of paper rain down on Amaris' lunch.

Amaris turned to Sirius. "One more toe out of line, she says," Amaris muttered, placing her mug back on the table. "Do you think our detention later counts as we got that before she threatened us?" All of their friends laughed as they knew there was no way of reigning the twins in at all.

It was finally Christmas Eve, and Amaris woke before anyone else that had stayed in Gryffindor tower for the holidays. She stretched in her bed, letting out a low groan when she felt her joints popping. Rolling over, she glanced outside to see the lawn covered in a thick blanket out snow. Grinning, she shot out of bed and rushed over to the window. Letting out an excited noise, she turned to see Lily watching her curiously. "Lily!" she called excitedly. "It snowed!"

Lily was somewhat confused by her friend's excitement. Sure, the redhead loved the snow, but it was nothing to squeal at like Amaris was. "Yes, and?"

Amaris glanced at the floor for a moment, chewing her lip idly. "I've never gotten to play in the snow before. Mother always said it was childish and ridiculous."

Lily looked shocked. She slowly got out of her bed and moved to hug Amaris. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find time to go outside today."

Grinning once again, Amaris let out another excited sound. "I'm going to go get Sirius!" Before Lily could say another word, Amaris was dressed and dashed out of the room. Shaking her head, Lily threw on her clothes for the day and made her way down to the common room.

Amaris was nowhere to be seen though as she was already sneaking her way up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. She'd been to their room plenty of times, and she easily found their door. She placed her ear against the wood for a moment and when she only heard their light snores, Amaris was confident she wouldn't walk in on something she didn't want to see. Silently opening the door, Amaris peered in and sure enough, the four boys were sleeping peacefully still.

Closing the door behind her, Amaris crept over to her brother's bed and pounced on him. "Sirius!" she whisper-shouted. Sirius was awake in moments, and he shot up in bed. Not expecting his sister to be perched on his bed, Sirius slammed his forehead into hers and they both let out a pained groan. They both rubbed their forehead in pain and ignored the shocked stares of the three other Gryffindors in the room. Sirius glared at his twin.

"Amaris," he said lowly, and his sister beamed at him mischievously. "I'm going to throttle you."

Laughing, Amaris jumped off her brother's bed with a call of "Not if you can't catch me first!" Amaris dashed through the door and thundered down the stairs. She heard her brother making his way through the door clumsily and as her feet hit the floor of the common room, Sirius was making his way down the stairs. Amaris quickly slid behind the couch that Lily was sitting on, looking absolutely bewildered. Moments later, Sirius burst into the common room. His eyes scanned the room for any trace of his sister.

Annoyed, he met Lily's still wild stare. "Have you seen Amaris?"

Confused, but slowly putting everything together, Lily nodded. "She just went through the portrait. She was in a bit of a hurry it seemed. Guess she went off to breakfast already." Letting out an annoyed sigh, Sirius spun on his heel and stormed back up the stairs to his room. As soon as he was gone, Lily leaned over the back of the couch and saw Amaris curled against the back of it. "He's going to kill you," she muttered, shaking her head before going back to sitting normally on the couch.

A few minutes later, all of the boys filed into the common room. Once again, Sirius looked around the room. His eyes settling on Lily again, he muttered, "Gonna go to breakfast. You coming?"

Lily shook her head at him. "I'll be there in a minute." Nodding, Sirius led the rest of the males out of the common room muttering about what he was going to do when he got his hands on his sister. When the portrait closed behind them, Amaris popped out of her hiding place. "You're in so much trouble Amaris," Lily said laughing.

Shaking her head, Amaris grinned. "He's not going to do anything. Sirius always has a big talk but he's harmless." Laughing, the pair made their way out of the common room and walked to breakfast together. As soon as they walked into the Great Hall, Sirius was glaring daggers at them. He thought for sure he'd find his sister already waiting for him, but here she was, strolling lazily into the room. As Amaris neared them, she snagged an apple from the table and sat down across from her brother. "Morning," she greeted him, grinning.

Sirius leaned in toward his sister. "Amaris, I promise you, as soon as we leave this hall, I'm going to murder you."

Amaris chuckled before looking at him with a small pout. "You wouldn't Sirius. It's Christmas Eve. And besides, I only wanted to go play in the snow."

"You woke me up to go play in the snow?"

Amaris shrugged. "You were also going to miss breakfast if you all slept any longer. Besides, Lily already promised me we'd go outside later. I just wanted you to come with since we've never been allowed to before." She crossed her arms, grinning at Sirius. "I want to finally be able to hit you with a snowball without getting grounded."

Sirius rolled his eyes at her before stating, "Fine, but two on one isn't fair." He glanced at the rest of the males watching the pair intently. "Anyone care to even the teams?" James immediately agreed, and so did Peter. Remus on the other hand mentioned something about needing to study.

Exasperated, Amaris fixed Remus with a pleading stare. "Study? Remus, it's the holidays. I'm sure your studying can wait a few days. And besides, it's now three on two. Please, Remus?" Amaris begged, giving him her best puppy dog stare as she leaned against his shoulder.

With a sigh, Remus quickly gave in. "Fine, but you're helping me study later."

Amaris beamed happily at him. "You act like I wasn't going to anyway. I always help you study Remus." He rolled his eyes at her, and they all quietly finished their breakfast. Amaris was silently plotting against James and Sirius the entire time and when everyone was done eating, Amaris shot up from the table and grabbed Remus and Lily's hands. She all but dragged them from the Great Hall with their remaining friends hot on her heels.

As soon as they burst into the courtyard, Amaris dashed forward, scooping up a handful of snow and wadding it together as tightly as she could. Sirius, James, and Peter took off across the snowy lawn, creating snowballs as they ducked behind cover. Amaris, Remus, and Lily did the same. From where she crouched behind the half wall, Amaris counted down from three and signaled her friends to follow her lead. Amaris popped up from where she hid and pelted Sirius in the chest with her snowball. Both Sirius and James had aimed for her, and Amaris was quickly pelted with their ammunition.

She dropped to the ground behind the wall, shaking the snow out of her hair laughing. Amaris glanced over to where Remus was doing the same. Apparently, Peter had lobbed his snow at Amaris and completely missed, hitting Remus in the face. "This means war!" Amaris called, popping back up from her hiding spot and again, she was pelted with snowballs. Completely covered in snow, she looked between Lily and Remus. "We don't stand a chance against those two. I'm going to create a diversion. While they focus on me, you two let loose."

Lily quickly agreed to the plan, and Remus looked a little concerned at her willingness to sacrifice herself. The three of them quickly made as many snowballs as they could, and Amaris grabbed two, leaving the rest of the pile for Remus and Lily to use. "Ready?" The pair nodded at Amaris, and she smirked. "Don't you forget about me. I'm sacrificing myself for the greater good!" With that, Amaris bolted out from behind her cover into the open yard. Within seconds, she was bombarded with seemingly endless fire. She managed to throw one of her snowballs and hit Sirius in the face with it. The other she had nailed James in the chest.

A well-aimed throw from Sirius hit Amaris directly in the face. Dramatically, Amaris dropped to her knees, clutching her chest. As she fell to lay in the snow, she spared a glance over at Lily and Remus. "Go on without me!" she called to her friends.

Lily, now playing along with Amaris called out her name sorrowfully. "I won't let you die!" With that, Lily leapt over the small wall and Sirius and James followed suit. Lily hit Sirius in the chest, and James in the side of the head. Both dropped to the ground, and Lily rushed over to Amaris side as she lay hopelessly in the snow. Lily grabbed her friend's hand, clutching it to her chest. "Amaris, don't go. Stay with me!"

Amaris smiled weakly at Lily. "You did good kid, you did good." With that, Amaris stilled in the snow, and Lily let out another cry of her name. From where Sirius lay in the snow, he formed one last snowball and threw it at Lily. It hit her in the back, and Lily fell over on top of Amaris. Shaking his head, Remus walked out from behind the wall and threw one last snowball at Sirius, hitting him in the face. Sirius fell back against the snow.

Remus glanced about the battlefield, taking in the four bodies strewn across the snow. "All my friends are dead," he muttered quietly. A small crunch of snow caught his attention, and Remus dodged a snowball thrown his way from where Peter still hid behind his cover. Remus quickly formed a single snowball and waited for Peter to show himself again. As soon as he did. Remus let loose and hit Peter in the shoulder with his snowball. Peter let out a pained sound and dropped to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

"Just what is going on here?" a shrill voice called into the courtyard. Remus glanced up to see Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway. All of the students laying in the snow popped up and stared happily at her.

"Snowball fight, Professor!" Amaris cheered.

McGonagall shook her head at her students. "All of you get inside before you catch a cold." Grumbling, everyone began to haul themselves off the ground and followed the professor inside.

Once they were inside, Amaris sidled up next to her brother grinning. "I do believe we won the war dear brother."

Sirius laughed at her. "If I recall, you were the first to die."

"Nonsense," Lily called from where she walked beside Amaris. "She gave her life valiantly to make sure Remus and I could take you out. Which we did."

Laughing, they all stumbled through the portrait hole and disappeared into their rooms to change out of their wet clothes. Amaris and Lily were the first back down into the common room. They flopped down onto the couches in front of the fire and sighed pleasant at the feeling of the heat warming their chilled forms. Soon after, the boys trailed into the room, and James and Peter sat on the couch with Lily. Sirius and Remus were left trying to sit on the couch Amaris was still sprawled across. Amaris moved her legs so Remus could sit, and she immediately placed them over his lap.

Sirius stared down at his twin, silently telling her to move. When Amaris made no move to, Sirius shrugged and sat down on her stomach. He reclined against the couch making himself comfy. "Sirius," Amaris groaned from beneath him. Sirius glanced down at his sister, cocking an eyebrow. "Get your fat butt off of me."

Chuckling, Sirius shifted on top of his sister, letting more of his weight rest on her. "I don't know sis, you're pretty comfy." With a groan, Amaris rolled beneath him, effectively dumping Sirius onto the floor. Everyone was now laughing at the twins and their usual antics. Amaris finally sat up, sitting beside Remus, and Sirius sat down right next to her, squishing her between the two males.

"You two are something else," Remus commented, glancing at the twins from where he was now crushed between Amaris and the arm of the couch.

Smiling, Amaris glanced up at him. "But you love us," she replied, her smile widening.

Remus shook his head at her and gave Amaris a light shove. She fell over onto her brother and the three finally scooted apart.

The six of them sat around the fire talking about everything and nothing in particular. With a sigh, Remus glanced outside and stood from the couch. Amaris gave him a questioning stare. "Everything okay?" she asked, concern obvious on her features.

Remus nodded. "Just don't feel well." He busied himself with smoothing out the wrinkles in his ratty sweater.

"Oh," Amaris said, about to stand with him. "Want me to take you to see Madam Pomfrey?" Remus quickly shook his head.

"I'll be fine." With that, Remus left the room, and everyone watched him go with concerned expressions.

Lily was the first to speak. "He did look rather under the weather earlier now that I think about it." Amaris chewed her lip, feeling guilty that she'd pressured him into going outside with them today. "Though it does seem like he gets sick rather often. Poor boy."

The rest of the night passed by quietly. One by one, everyone began to disappear from the common room until it was just Sirius and Amaris left. Sirius glanced at his sister. "What's wrong? You've been quiet all night since Remus left and that's rather unlike you."

Amaris shrugged, guilt still raging inside her. "Just feel bad is all," she muttered.

Sirius wrapped a single arm around his sister. "You didn't do anything, Amaris," he tried to reassure her. "Lily was right earlier, Remus seems to always be ill." He gave Amaris one last squeeze before he stood off the couch. "I'm gonna head to bed. Promise me you'll get some sleep and won't stay up worrying all night?" Not saying anything, Amaris nodded, and her brother disappeared up the stairs. Amaris knew she wouldn't be sleeping any time soon, so she crept upstairs and grabbed the first textbook she could find and went back downstairs.

Curling up on the couch, Amaris glanced at the book in her hands. Potions. Sighing, she flipped it open and began to read. At least she'd have a bit of a head start when the term resumed after the new year. After about an hour of studying, Amaris' mind quit registering what she was reading, and soon after, her eyelids grew heavy and finally slipped shut.

Amaris swatted away whatever was prodding her in the forehead and rolled over, shoving her face into the couch cushion. "'Maris." A hand was on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. "'Maris, wake up. It's Christmas."

Groaning, Amaris shied away from her twin. "I don't care what bloody day it is," she muttered against the couch. "I'm tired." Curling in on herself, Amaris tried to go back to sleep, but Sirius was having none of it. He shoved his arms under his sister's body and heaved her off the couch before dumping her onto the floor.

Still, Amaris didn't budge. She felt someone nudging her with their foot. "I think you killed her," James commented, kneeling down to prod Amaris in the shoulder.

When she didn't move, James poked her once again. "Do that one more time, and I'll rip your finger off, Potter."

"Nah, she's fine," Sirius said, moving to sit on the previously occupied couch. With a single huff, Amaris sat up into a sitting position and finally opened her eyes. She glanced blearily around the room. Everyone was staring at her with the exception of Remus who was still missing. Before Amaris could begin wallowing in guilt again, a package that was wrapped poorly in green paper was shoved in front of her face. Carefully, she pulled it from her brother's grasp and set it on the floor beside her. Pushing herself off the floor, Amaris went upstairs to grab the gifts she'd gotten her friends. She brought Remus' present with her just in case he showed up, and Amaris made her way back down the stairs, arms loaded with brightly wrapped gifts. Everyone sat in the common room in front of the fire as they exchanged Christmas presents with each other. Amaris was filled with joy, along with her friends, as they thanked each other pleasantly for their gifts.

Amaris was already wearing the red and gold bracelet her brother had gotten for her, knowing it would drive their mother insane. Her nose was also buried in the book James had gotten her about magical creatures, both light and dark. It was well after dinner, and the portrait opened, revealing Remus' tired form. From where everyone was sitting around the fire, they beckoned him to join them. Slowly, Remus made his way over, and sat down beside Amaris. Once their group was whole again, everything easily fell back into place.

The six of them boarded the Hogwarts Express together. When they reached their cabin, Lily split off with them and went to go find Severus. In their entire year with the twins, none of them could recall a single time the two of them looked so down and unwilling to do something—not even on a single occasion they'd received detention. Trying to lighten the mood a little bit, James bumped his shoulder against Sirius'. "Come on, I'm sure everything will be fine, and I promise you I'll write whenever I can."

Sirius just smiled at him sadly. Where Amaris sat beside Remus, she was just as bad, if not worse off than he was. She knew just exactly what was waiting for her when she stepped into that house. A scarred hand resting on her thigh startled Amaris, and she glanced over at Remus who was staring back at her, worried. Not wanting to look weak or scared in front of him she didn't say anything, but she leaned against him, appreciating his calming presence.

All too soon, the train slowed as it neared the station. Amaris and Sirius just glanced at each other, neither one wanting to be the first to stand up. As their three friends stood around them, Sirius and Amaris finally rose from their seats. Amaris was quickly wrapped in a hug from Remus. She was surprised at first but quickly hugged him back. "Try to not cause too much trouble while you're home," he whispered into her ear. "Stay safe," he told her as he let Amaris go.

The trio tried to smile as Amaris and Sirius grabbed each other's hand and began to make their way off the train. They all exited, and as soon as Walburga spotted her children, she quickly made her way over to them and pulled them apart. Taking an arm of each twin in her hands, she applied way more force than was necessary and began to lead them off the platform. Before they were out of earshot, Peter, James, and Remus could hear the woman telling them, "Come along now, we have _so much to talk about_ when we get home."


	2. Year Two

Amaris fell into her usual seat beside Remus on the express, and Sirius did the same beside James. As she slid the door shut with her foot, Amaris groaned and leaned against Remus dramatically. "Worst. Summer. Ever."

Remus glanced over at Sirius who looked just as exhausted as his sister did. "It's like she tried to cram an entire year's worth of crap into three months," he explained, shaking his head at the memory. "At least we don't have to put up with it until next summer."

"Maybe if you two tried to behave a little more this year—" Remus was cut off by the twins laughing. He knew it was a long shot, but if there was a chance they could avoid having another hellish three months maybe they would've taken the bait. But no. Remus sighed and looked toward James and Peter for some back up, but both just shrugged and shook their heads at him. Everyone knew the twins were a lost cause. They would do as they pleased and just deal with the concequences when the time came.

Leaning back in his seat, Remus settled in to listen everyone tell the stories of their summer. Of course, Sirius and Amaris just glossed over theirs, and James told everyone stories about how his parents were urging him to join the quidditch team this year. Peter didn't say much, though he usually never did. Remus, like the twins, glossed over his summer. He didn't need to go into detail about how he spent most of it in pain and hating his life.

The door to their cabin slid open suddenly, and everyone glanced up to see Lily smiling and standing in the doorway. Amaris went to smile back, but couldn't find it in her to do so when she noticed who was standing behind Lily. After the hell she'd just been through, Amaris wanted absolutely nothing to do with anyone who she even suspected to have similar views as her family. Sending a quick glance over at her brother, she could tell he was thinking the same thing. "I hope your summer wasn't too terrible," Lily's voice had Amaris staring back at her for a moment before her gaze once again drifted to Severus.

"It was fine," Amaris stated blandly. "I would tell you all about it, but it seems we only have room for one more in here." From where she was still leaning against Remus, she felt him give her a light shove.

Severus' eyes bored holes into Amaris. "You say that as though you believe I'd want to even join you." Amaris cocked an eyebrow and finally sat up in her seat for the first time since they'd left the station.

"Just go slither back into whatever hole you found your way out of, snake," James had beat her to the punch. "I know how people like you operate, and it's despicable."

Severus glanced over at James, looking bored. "People like me?"

James merely sneered back at him. He'd put up with Severus for a year and tried to play nice, somewhat, for Lily's sake. This year though, he would be having none of it. Not after seeing just what his friends had to deal with over the summer. "I know what you're truly like, _Snivellus._ You run around talking big about the Dark Arts and how much they interest you. You're a worthless waste of space, and I don't get why anyone would want to spend their time hanging around you." Everyone around James fell into a stunned silence. "Why don't you run along back to the rest of your Slytherin friends and discuss just how much anyone that isn't a pureblood deserves less than you."

Snape looked as though James' words had no effect on him. Then again, Snape never looked anything other than bored of life or annoyed. Still though, Snape leaned forward slightly and pointed a single finger into the cabin. "I'd rather be how I am than be anything like you. Nothing but a bunch of pompous, arrogant Gryffindors. Think you can get away with whatever you want. Don't play by the rules because you deem they're below you. You three," he pointed first at James, then moved toward Sirius and Amaris, "are the best examples of it. The Blacks never seem to be able to keep out of trouble just because they think it's fun, and you, Potter, think you're higher above anyone else."

From the corner of her eye, Amaris saw James stand to make his way over to Snape. Before he could, she leaped out of her seat and placed a hand on the cabin door. She leaned forward, grinning madly at Snape. "Well, I'd say that's enough of that, now isn't it? Dear Snivellus, if you'd like to keep that nasty thing you call a hand," Amaris made a disgusted face at where Snape's finger was still pointing at James, "I'd suggest you move your arm out of the way of the door." Amaris began to slide the door shut slowly. "And Lily, you're free to stay if you'd like, but I don't think anyone here is going to make you leave your current company to stay." When Lily didn't make a move to join them, Amaris gave her a fake smile. "See you both at the feast!" With that, Amaris slammed the door shut, narrowly missing Snape's retreating hand and turned back to her friends.

Sirius was now standing in front of James, trying to block him from opening the door and storming out after Snape. "James," Sirius said, taking his friend by the shoulders. "Just sit down. It's not worth it." Sirius forced James back into his seat, and James continued to grumbled quietly to himself about Snape and Slytherins.

Riled up from the altercation, Amaris still stood by the door and clapped her hands, grinning. "Well, wasn't that a great way to kick off the year? If that was anything to go off of, I think I'm going to have way more fun than last year."

"'Maris," her brother sighed at her, "Sit down." With a huff, Amaris flopped back down into her seat beside Remus.

She folded her arms across her chest and pouted at her brother. "Come on Sirius. This is a big year for us. We're about to be thirteen. We're not little kids anymore. Now we get to be the rambunctious teenagers we've always dreamed of being."

Beside her, Amaris heard Lupin make an odd sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough. "That's right. Sometimes I forget the two of you are older than the rest of us. You really don't act it."

"Excuse me," Sirius called indignantly. "If I seem to recall correctly, I stopped James from going out there to fight Snape, and I got Amaris to listen to me for once. As the eldest here, I do believe I'm doing my job properly."

Amaris scoffed. "Yeah, for once, Mister _I'm-five-minutes-older-than-you_."

The three of them continued to bicker for the rest of the way to Hogwarts about just how mature the twins could act when they wanted to. When finally, the train began to slow, the three calmed themselves and exited their compartment. Amaris grinned and locked arms with her brother as they stepped off the train. When they heard the call for first years, both twins glanced over to see if they could spot the familiar face they almost didn't want to see. When they didn't see him, they shrugged at each other and went on their merry way toward the castle. Remus, James, and Peter followed along behind them, acting as though they were no longer associated with the insane twins.

This year as they filed into the Great Hall, Amaris, Sirius, and Remus made their way to one side of the table while James and Peter were on the other. Amaris sat between the two males and across from Peter, while James was across from Sirius. Later on, when Lily found her way to them, still upset about what happened on the train, she sat next to Peter but didn't glance at any of them. James glanced her way, before locking eyes with Amaris who just shrugged. James tilted his head, motioning for Amaris to talk to Lily, but with wide eyes, Amaris quickly shook her head. James then gave her a betrayed look, and Amaris held her hands up in a sign of hopelessness before turning to face the sorting ceremony that was about to begin.

The first student was called forward and was promptly placed in Ravenclaw. The table cheered, but neither Amaris nor Sirius paid them any mind. Their eyes were locked on the boy that was about to be called next. Amaris nudged Sirius in the side. "Look, Mommy's little boy is next." Sirius shot his twin an annoyed look.

Sure enough, the next name called was him. "Black, Regulus." Behind Amaris, Remus leaned forward.

"You never told us you guys had a brother," he hissed in her ear.

Amaris looked shocked. "We have a brother?" she gasped. "Wait, I'm going to call this before it happens just so I can say: I told you so. Slytherin." Amaris went silent, and sure enough, moments later, the sorting hat shouted out Slytherin. With a triumphant grin, Amaris turned to face her friends and gave a small, mock bow. "Now, without further ado, I told you so." Her attention was pulled away from her exasperated friends by a small nudge in her side. Amaris noticed Sirius motioning for her to look toward the Slytherin table, and when she did, Amaris couldn't help the angry snarl that built inside her at Narcissa's gleeful smile directed at them.

Turning away from her, Sirius grabbed his sister and turned her away from Narcissa before things could get ugly. "I can hear it now sis, _this is what a true Black should look like._ Should we expect another howler from mother soon?"

Amaris couldn't see her mother sending them a howler for this. "Maybe not quite that, but at least a letter gloating about how her golden son made it into the right house. It might be better for him this way. I don't know what he'd do if mother sent _him_ howler after howler telling him how much of a disappointment he is to her."

With long, sullen sighs, the twins settled down finally and the rest of the feast passed by without incident. Everyone was dismissed, and their group made their way back to their respective dorms for the night. Amaris wasn't expecting her night to be pleasant, but what she really didn't expect was Lily exploding as soon as the door was shut. She threw her trunk in front of her bed violently and glanced over at Amaris. "Just who does he think he is?" Lily shouted. Amaris stared at the redhead from where she stood behind her bed. Hopefully if anything was going to be thrown in her direction, Amaris would be able to dive beneath the bed for cover. "Talking about Severus like he knows him. James hasn't even taken the time to get to know him! If any of you did, you would realize he isn't a bad person."

Amaris rubbed her forehead wishing she could just disappear. This isn't a conversation she wanted to be having this late at night, and especially not with this many heavy objects that could be thrown in her direction. "Now, Lily," Amaris said easily, trying to calm her roommate down. Lily spun to face her, and Amaris took note of the stack of textbooks resting in the redhead's hands. She had to chose her next words very carefully unless she wanted to be knocked out by a potions book. "Just take a second to calm down and look at things from an outsider's perspective." Amaris jumped at the sound of Lily's books slamming against her bedside table.

"Just calm down? Calm down?! Like I'm just going to sit by and listen to him saying such things about one of my friends for no good reason!"

Amaris took in Lily's rage for a moment longer before she gave in. Her hands pressed against her eyes before rubbing small circles against her cheekbones in frustration. Before saying anything, Amaris' hands came together and her thumbs rested beneath her chin and her index fingers were against her lips. She paused like that for a moment, and it almost looked as though she was praying as she stared Lily down. Finally, her hands moved away from her face, and Amaris spoke. "This isn't really a conversation I wanted to have with you with so little preparation, but I guess I have no choice now. Lily . . . I don't know how to put this lightly."

"Then don't!" she shouted at Amaris, still fuming.

Amaris let out an annoyed sound. "Fine. Lily, you come from a muggle family. Do you know what that means?"

Lily looked confused for a moment as though Amaris had just asked her a trick question. "It means neither of my parents are able to use magic."

"Close, but not quite. Lily, there are people in this world who don't believe that anyone who doesn't come from a family of purebloods should be able to use magic. The most well-known of those people are the Death Eaters. They support the Dark Lord's vision of a perfect world. In that world, you wouldn't be here Lily."

Amaris felt bad for piling this onto her friend who looked absolutely shocked at her words. "What are you telling me this for, Amaris?" Lily's voice sounded as though she was teetering on the edge of tears.

Sitting on her bed, Amaris motioned for Lily to come sit beside her. After a moment of hesitation, she obliged. "This is why I didn't tell you this before. I don't want to scare you Lily, but I also want you to understand where the rest of us are coming from when we tell you to not trust Severus." Lily looked as though she was about to say something, but Amaris shook her head, and Lily remained quiet. "I can't say for sure if he's one of them or not, but from experience, I know what those people are like, and Severus seems like the type. To be blunt, usually people in Slytherin are the ones who join their ranks."

"How do you know all of this?" Lily asked, not meeting Amaris' steely gaze. For a moment, she wondered if Amaris was one of them. How else could she know so much about those people?

"I need you to promise me you won't tell a soul about any of this." Lily quickly nodded, and Amaris fought with herself to continue on. "My family. They share the same ideals they do." She didn't want to come outright and say _my family is mainly made up of Death Eaters and supporters._ "That's why my brother and I hate our family so much. We see the world differently than they do. So, until the day I can confirm without a doubt that Severus is nothing like the rest of his house, I won't pretend to like him or the fact that you hang out with him. Just promise me you'll be careful?" Lily promised. "Good. Now, I believe that's enough world-shattering conversation for one night. We should probably finish unpacking and get some sleep."

Lily stood from her roommate's bed and made her way back to her trunk. The pair of them didn't say another word as they finished what they had to do and tucked in for the night.

The first three weeks of school had been completely normal. Amaris and Sirius had already been forced to clean cauldrons and polish the trophies on eight separate occasions. Exhausted from staying up until midnight the night before trying to catch up on missed assignments, the twins were rather subdued for once at lunch. That was until a letter fell down on top of Amaris' untouched food. Perking up slightly, she looked at her name scrawled in the all too familiar script. She nudged Sirius in the side and held the letter out for him to see. "This can't be good," Remus muttered. "You two almost never get mail, and you only look that_ happy_ when it's from your mother."

"Can't help it," Sirius said, urging his sister to open the letter.

"We just love getting such sweet notes from our dearest mother," Amaris added, sliding a finger into the envelope before tearing it open. She fished out the parchment and held it before her. Clearing her throat, she sat up a little taller and tried to act as regal as her mother did. "Amaris, and of course, Sirius because I can never write to one of you without including your other half," Amaris began to read only loud enough for their group to hear. "I've been recently informed that your brother Regulus has been properly placed into Slytherin. I'm hoping that having your younger brother at school showing you the way a Black should behave may lead you two on the right path. I seriously doubt it though as you two are a lost cause." Amaris paused, taking a moment to look hurt.

Shaking her head, she continued on. "Now, on to more important matters. I would like the two of you to know that there are always people watching you. I find out about everything you do sooner or later, and I've been told you have already served multiple detentions and already begun wreaking havoc both in and outside of classes. Unless you wish to have a summer worse than what you just had, I'd suggest you straighten up sooner rather than later. Signed, Walburga Black." As the letter concluded, Amaris wadded it up in her hands and threw it toward her brother. "You do realize what this means, right?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Sirius shared the same look. "More detention?" he suggested, smirking.

"More detention," Amaris quickly confirmed.

Remus and James shook their heads at the twins. Peter was just gawking at them. Lily chose to remain completely separated from the entire conversation. She was still trying to get over the way her friends had treated Snape. "You two are just asking to be punished now," Remus said blandly.

The twins shared gleeful grins. "Come on Remus, if you lived in the hell we call a home, you would try to enjoy your freedom as much as you could as well," Sirius replied.

"And," Amaris drawled, holding a single finger in the air as she leaned toward her brother. "It's just too much fun to anger dear Mummy when she can't do a thing about it for almost an entire year." Remus gave up on the pair yet again, and simply turned back to his lunch as the twins plotted their next big move that would surely land them in detention for at least a week.

Amaris glanced out the window of her room. It was another full moon. Remus was gone again. She chewed her lip and tugged at her blankets. She'd begun putting all the pieces together last year, but she wasn't exactly sure what was going on. Now, after having read about werewolves in the school library and the book James had gifted her last year, she was sure. Remus was a werewolf. Amaris' hands turned to fists as she grasped helplessly at her blankets.

She didn't get an ounce of sleep that night as she stayed up worrying about Remus.

After classes, Amaris trudged her way to the common room, absolutely exhausted. Remus hadn't shown up for any classes that day as per usual, and she was mere seconds away from exploding with all of her bottled up emotions. "Sirius, have you seen Remus around? I was going to ask for his help with the potions assignment, and I can't seem to find him anywhere," Amaris noted, her eyes scanning the Gryffindor common room as though she expected him to come strolling into her view at any moment.

Sirius shook his head sadly. "I haven't. He still hasn't returned from the hospital wing yet. You should know this as you sit next to him in almost every class." Peter and James mumbled their agreement.

Amaris nodded mechanically. "I didn't know if maybe he was in the dorm or not. Sirius. Can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Her brother's eyes widened in confusion for a moment as he stood from the couch and approached Amaris. She leaned close, eyeing the pair sitting on the couch that were pretending to not watch her intently. "Remus has been gone once a month, every month. Always around the same time," she whispered into Sirius' ear. "Y'know how Mother used to rant and rave about anything that isn't a pureblood. . . Well, what if Remus is one of those things she dreads?"

Sirius pulled away from Amaris, his eyes searching her grey ones for any hint that she was joking. When he found none, Sirius grabbed a hold of Amaris' arm and drug her from the common room. He quickly made his way up the stairs that led to his dorm room and shoved the door open. Making sure they were the only two in there, he released his grip on her. "Just what are you trying to say Amaris?" Sirius' eyes were ablaze with fury, and Amaris backed away from him. "I thought you didn't want to be like her, and yet here you are, making crazy assumptions about a person based on their parents."

Amaris couldn't believe what her brother was saying. She shook her head, causing her loose curls to fly about her face wildly. "I would never Sirius. I don't know what you mean by that."

"Just because Remus is a half-blood—"

Sirius was caught off guard as his sister cut him off. "That has nothing to do with this! I wouldn't even care if he came from a muggle family. It doesn't matter what bloodline you come from as no other witch or wizard I know disappears every month like he does." Amaris paused, watching her brother's features soften. "You have noticed, haven't you?" When Sirius' eyes narrowed at her, Amaris continued on. Running a hand idly through her hair, she glanced out of the large bay window. "Every time he's gone Sirius . . . the moon is full."

Warily, Sirius shifted his weight from foot to foot. Of course, he'd noticed, but he hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of it. "What's your point?"

"The moon is always full _every single time_ he's gone. Don't you remember Mother always going crazy and telling us to stay indoors on the night of a full moon. She said if we didn't, a werewolf would come and get us."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "And our mother is also a crazy old bat."

Amaris nodded in agreement, not even bothering to deny the statement. "That she is, but I've been doing some research Sirius. I think—I think Remus is a werewolf." Amaris shied away from her brother waiting for the accusations he was sure to sling her way.

She was surprised when Sirius did no such thing. "And if he is?" Sirius asked quietly. "Will that change anything?"

Quickly, Amaris shook her head, not wanting to think about what her life would be like without her friend. "No, definitely not." She paused, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip. "Well, maybe some things _could change_."

Sirius glared at his sister in disgust. "I thought you were better than that, Amaris. Are you going to abandon him just because of something he can't help?"

"No! You know I would never! Remus is my best friend!" she shouted at her brother. "I want to help him Sirius."

Her brother went silent; whatever response he'd had immediately died on his tongue. "You know there's nothing we can do Amaris." His tone was even, sorrow lacing his voice.

Not knowing what to do with herself, Amaris began to pace in front of her brother. "I told you, Sirius, I've been doing some research. Werewolves only go mad around humans."

Sirius watched his twin with wide, confused eyes. Had she lost her mind? He'd noticed she hadn't been herself lately, and the dark circles under her eyes led him to believe she wasn't sleeping either. "Amaris, last time I checked, that's exactly what we both are. _Human."_

Amaris finally halted her pacing and spun to face her brother. Her usually calm, mischievous grey eyes were now wild. "What if there was a way we didn't have to be?"

That was it. Sirius knew she'd lost her mind at that very moment. Stepping forward carefully, he slowly reached out to take Amaris by the hand and lead her back to the common room so Lily could take her to her room. "Now, Amaris," he began, lightly weaving his fingers through hers. "You know that's not possible."

With surprising strength, Amaris yanked her hand free from her brother's hold. "It might be Sirius. I need to look into it more though." She ran her hands through her long black hair. Her brother stood frozen, watching his sister intently. "We don't properly learn about it until next year, but I was reading about Animagi. We could turn into animals Sirius. _We wouldn't be human anymore._"

Sirius couldn't believe what she'd just told him. Was this really a possibility? "That would mean. . ."

"We might have a chance of being safe around him during the full moon. He wouldn't have to go through this alone anymore."

Sirius closed the distance between them and gathered Amaris into a tight hug. Joy quickly surged through him at the thought of being able to support their friend in his time of need. "Amaris, that's great! We should tell him."

Amaris shook her head violently. "Not yet. I told you I need to do more research about it still. This is only a theory. I don't want to get his hopes up until we know for sure this could work."

Pride rose in Sirius' chest at the thought of what his sister was willing to do for their friend. "My bookworm of a little sister." He ruffled his twin's hair lovingly.

Amaris pouted in Sirius' arms. "You're only five minutes older than me Sirius," she reminded him.

"Whatever, still younger than me. So, when do we start looking more into this?"

Pulling back from her brother, Amaris looked at him thoroughly surprised. She hadn't expected him to want to help her dig through books to find answers, yet here he was offering his help. "I was going to go back to the library tonight, actually."

Sirius smiled at her, finally releasing her from his hug. "Great. I'll come with you. Do you think we should bring Peter and James? It could go quicker if we had extra help."

Amaris weighed the idea for a moment before nodding. "We should talk to them first though, see if they've even worked out what he is." Before Amaris could continue, Sirius was striding out of the room. His twin was left standing in the center of the boy's room, completely shocked. Moments later, the door opened again and Sirius returned, dragging both Peter and James by the wrist. Sirius shut the door and the pair glanced between the twins, curious as to what was going on.

James was the first to say anything. "Amaris, Sirius mentioned something about needing to discuss Remus as he was _so nicely_ bringing us up here." Amaris gave Sirius a pointed look. He shrugged back at his sister, giving her a sheepish look. "I'm going to assume that the two of you have reached the same conclusion that we have." James gestured to Peter.

Amaris tried to keep her face blank as she stared at James. "And what would that be?"

James sighed. "Come on Amaris. Remus is sick once a month, every month. Always leading up to a full moon, and he's always gone the night of. Our dear friend is a werewolf. I've been meaning to talk to you guys about it, but I didn't want to tip you off if you didn't already know. I know how your family is about. . .his kind."

The twins groaned in unison. "We're more accepting than our family is," Sirius muttered. "So much so, that Amaris here has almost made herself sick with worry and the fact that she's trying to find a way to help him out." Amaris stared at the ground bashfully, not liking the way the three males were staring at her.

James gawked for a moment before pulling himself together. "Is there a way to help him? I thought there wasn't a cure or anything."

"There's not," Amaris muttered. "But there might still be a way to help, and Sirius and I are going to do more digging in the library to see if it could actually work." James looked slightly apprehensive at her words.

"What are you thinking?" Amaris rambled off everything she'd already told Sirius about how werewolves don't pay much attention to animals, then when she mentioned the concept of Animagi, James and Peter's eyes lit up with excitement. When she was finally done explaining everything, James was almost bouncing with excitement. "When do we start reading?"

Amaris beamed at him, glad everyone was on board with her idea. "Tonight." James nodded, and the sudden sound of the door opening had everyone's head snapping toward the entrance of the room. Rubbing his bleary eyes, Remus stood in the doorway, slightly shocked at seeing them all staring back at him.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean to interrupt," he said solemnly.

Amaris was the first to recover, and she quickly bounded over to him, wrapping Remus in a hug. Surprised, Remus awkwardly hugged her back. "Glad to see you're okay, Rem. You look dreadful," she commented, pulling away from him enough to take in his pale face and darkened features. Remus' face also sported a few new cuts.

He gave her a humorless chuckle. "I feel dreadful."

Letting him go with a sad smile, Amaris turned to everyone else in the room. "Alright, come on you three. Let's let him get some rest. We've got plenty of studying to do." Before Remus could question her about what he'd missed, she threw an easy, "I'll fill you in later," over her shoulder and they were all out of the door and on their way to the library.

The twins sat at a table in the back of the library, far away from prying eyes and ears. Sirius groaned for what had to be the seventieth time as he shut his book. "I can't find anything that says how you begin the process," he muttered, rubbing his tired eyes. They'd spent the last two months holed up in the library almost every night searching for answers. James and Peter usually hung back with Remus most nights so he didn't catch on to what they were trying to do.

Amaris and Sirius always gave the same excuse that they had some form of detention to get to which everyone easily believed. If the pair wasn't actually in detention, they were sat at the same table with their noses buried in a different book each night. In the time they'd spent in the library, they'd come to the conclusion that should they be able to transform, they would be safe from Remus in his wolf form. Now, all they needed to do was figure out how to become an Animagus.

Amaris ignored her brother and continued reading. "This here says that the transformation can go horribly wrong if not done properly, and the witch or wizard may become permanently stuck in a half-human, half-animal state." Amaris groaned, placing her head in her hands. "I might be beginning to think this is a bad idea," she grumbled.

"Come on Amaris. I'm sure we'll be fine." She glanced at Sirius, and the look he gave her convinced her that he truly believed what he said. "Does the book say anything else?"

Amaris held a finger up to him and continued to read on. "Due to this fact, the Ministry of Magic keeps a close watch on those who are attempting to master this form of magic, and there is an official registry for those who have." Her eyes scanned over the next few words, and her mouth dropped open. Shaking her head, she reread the passage. Smacking her brother's arm lightly in excitement, she read quietly, "Part of the process by which someone becomes an Animagus includes holding the leaf of a mandrake in their mouth for an entire month."

As what she had just said sank in, both Sirius and Amaris glanced at each other in horror. Holding a leaf in their mouth for an entire month? How would they get away with that? How would they even be able to get their hands on the leaf? Amaris quickly leaned down and pulled a piece of parchment and her quill out of her bag and tossed them at her brother. "Write all of this down," she demanded as she repeated the previous words. "We'll figure out how to get everything later. Right now, let's just be happy we even managed to find this!"

Glancing down at the paper, Amaris was delighted to find that Sirius had copied everything down exactly as she had said it. Dragging her eyes back to the book, Amaris read on, trying to find where it mentioned the process to make the potion. "Here!" she whispered excitedly. "The leaf must be held in their mouth for an entire month. It must be placed in the witch or wizard's mouth at a full moon, and only removed at the next visible full moon." Amaris paused, allowing Sirius to catch up as he quickly scribbled away on the parchment. "If the leaf is removed or swallowed, the process must be restarted. If the night happens to be cloudy when the leaf is supposed to be removed, the process must be repeated."

Amaris' hands began rubbing at her temples, stress already building up between them. "Alright, so, at the next _visible_ full moon, the wizard must spit the leaf into a phial within range of the moon's pure rays. To the moonstruck phial, the wizard or witch must add: one of their own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth." Both Amaris and Sirius were quickly becoming overwhelmed. She was naming off things that were going to be rather hard for them to get their hands on. Amaris sighed. "I'm not done yet, either," she muttered, glancing back down at the daunting text. "The mixture must then be put in a quiet, dark place and cannot be in any way disturbed."

Amaris wanted to absolutely explode with frustration as she read the next few lines. This was going to take forever, and was going to be a pain in the ass to do in secret. "The next thing that must happen is for the wizard to wait for an electrical storm. During this waiting period, the wizard must, at sunrise and sundown, _without fail_, chant the incantation: Amato Animo Animato Animagus with the tip of their wand placed over the heart. When at last, there in a lightning storm, the wizard should move immediately to a large and secure place, recite the incantation one final time, and then drink the potion. Once this initial training is complete, the witch or wizard is able to transform at will."

As soon as Sirius was done writing, Amaris yanked the paper away from him and pulled out a second piece of parchment from her bag. Holding her hand out for her quill and inkwell, Sirius handed them over, and Amaris quickly copied the notes down. When she was done, she folded the two pieces of parchment together and shoved them into her bag. Closing the book as quickly and quietly as she could, Amaris grabbed Sirius by the hand and put the book back on the shelf before taking off out of the library. Madam Pince's angry shouts followed them out of the door as they dashed down the hall.

Amaris and Sirius rushed back to the common room; the two copies of the potion process tucked away carefully in Amaris' bag. As soon as they stepped through the portrait hole, they both scanned the room, hoping to find Peter and James alone. Sure enough, the pair was sitting by themselves by the fire. Immediately, the twins stormed over to them and grabbed each of them by the wrist, dragging them into a secluded corner of the room. Sirius shoved James into one of the chairs, and Amaris drug Peter onto the couch with her. Sirius grabbed the other chair that was beside James and pulled it across the floor so he could sit facing the three of them. "Bloody hell, what has gotten into you two?" James asked, eyeing the twins warily.

"We figured it out," Amaris stated gleefully.

"You figured it out?" James asked rather loudly. Both Amaris and Sirius quickly shushed James who offered them an apologetic look.

Nodding, Sirius scanned the room. "Where's Remus?" he asked, not seeing the werewolf anywhere around.

Peter shrugged, offering them a quick, "He said he needed to grab something from the room."

Amaris nodded and bent down, quickly pulling out one of the parchments that had the instructions laid out on it. "Then we don't have much time. When you get a chance, copy this down. Later on, we'll discuss who is in charge of getting what ingredients and supplies. I say we start—"

"Oh, look who it is. Are you two still ignoring me?" Remus' voice cut Amaris off. Everyone glanced up at him guiltily. He was looming behind Sirius, his arms folded tightly across his chest as his eyes scanned his friends.

Meeting his wounded green eyes, Amaris tried to smooth things over. "Remus, we haven't been ignoring you. We've been—"

"In detention," he cut her off sharply. "No, you haven't. Even I know you two don't have detention _that often._"

Sirius gave him a quick rebuttal. "Actually, to be perfectly honest, at least three quarters of the time we said we had detention we truly did."

Remus looked like he at least believed that statement. It wasn't too hard to see the truth of it. Every time he turned around it seemed Sirius and Amaris were picking fights or pranking someone. "And what about the other quarter of the time? I only ever see you during classes anymore, and when I see you at night you have your noses in a book."

"We've been studying," Amaris said coolly.

Remus scoffed, his face spelling disbelief. "Studying? Sirius? I'll believe that when I'm dead."

"Actually, Remus we were," Sirius said, not at all offended by Remus' prod at him. "Amaris and I were studying potions." It wasn't a total lie as they'd finally found the potion recipe they needed.

Remus narrowed his eyes at Sirius then glanced at Amaris. "Is that what you've been working on?" Before Amaris could say anything, Remus snatched the parchment out of her hand. The last thing he'd expected to see on it was a potion recipe. So, they truly had been studying, and Remus felt like a fool for doubting his friends. As he actually read what was on the page though, he was immediately suspicious. "Amaris, just what is this for?" She didn't answer him, but instead demanded he give it back. When he didn't, Amaris lunged forward at him, but Remus used his height against her and held it just out of Amaris' reach and continued to read. "_It must be placed in the witch or wizard's mouth at a full moon, and only removed at the next visible full moon_."

When Amaris realized he wasn't going to stop, she went with the only idea she could think of. Amaris tackled Remus and wrestled the parchment from his grasp. She handed it off to Sirius and straddled the werewolf, her hands firmly placed over his mouth. "Nothing to see here, just Amaris being Amaris," Sirius' voice had Amaris glancing about the common room. Everyone was currently staring at her curiously as she continued to sit atop Remus.

Taking a calming breath, she glanced down at Remus. "Now, if I remove my hands will you be quiet enough for us to go upstairs?" Remus nodded. Warily, Amaris removed her hands from his mouth, but didn't move to get off him for another moment. When she was satisfied he wasn't going to say anything, Amaris stood and offered him a hand, helping Remus off the ground. She motioned for the boys to lead the way to their room, and they all trudged up the stairs.

Once they were all shut away in their room, Remus turned to face Amaris. "Why do you have a potion recipe that is so concerned with the full moon?" he asked, his face pale.

Amaris chewed her lip. She wasn't sure how Remus was going to take the truth. "Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters!" Remus shouted at her. He instantly felt bad for doing so as he watched Amaris recoil at his words. "I'm sorry. It's a sore topic for me."

Sirius stepped forward slightly. "We know, Remus."

Remus felt as though the world was collapsing in around him. "What?"

"We know what you are Remus," James added.

Remus shook his head. He didn't want to believe he'd already been found out. He just wanted to have friends and a normal life, but he knew deep down he could never have that. The time he'd spent with his friends had been some of the greatest times of his life, and he was truly going to miss it. "I'm sorry. How long have you known?" This was surely why Amaris and Sirius had been avoiding him. It all made sense now.

"We all had an idea during our first year," Amaris responded.

Remus' eyes widened. Last year? That couldn't be. "And, you continued to be my friends this entire time?" All of his friends nodded at him. "But then why have you only recently started to act weird?" Remus asked, his eyes fixed on the twins.

The pair shifted uneasily. Sirius glanced at Amaris, silently asking her if they should tell him. Amaris shrugged back. Remus had caught them red handed with the potion to become an Animagus, there wasn't much of a chance of avoiding the topic now. "We've been looking for a way to try and help you," Amaris said solemnly.

He couldn't believe it. All this time, Remus had thought his friends were mad at him or something, and that they wanted nothing to do with him. In reality, they'd spent all of their free time searching for a way to try and help him? He'd never felt so happy in his life, but his happiness didn't last long. "Amaris, there is no way to help me."

"But there might be," Sirius said quietly. "Now that the cat's out of the bag, might as well ask him, 'Maris."

Warily, Amaris met Lupin's gaze. "Remus, when you transform into a wolf, do you attack animals, or only feel that way toward humans?"

Remus crossed his arms over his chest as if to hold himself together. Amaris instantly felt bad for asking him. "Only humans."

Grinning, James moved to grab the paper out of Amaris' hands. "Great. That settles that. So, when do we start this?"

All five of them had sat in the boys room that night, doling out responsibilities for the potion. Amaris and Sirius were tasked with getting the mandrake, and Peter and James were in charge of getting their hands on the moth chrysalis. Now, it was a week later, and they were no closer to getting the ingredients than they had been at the start of the week. Amaris leaned back in her chair as Professor Slughorn droned on about the proper uses for a Swelling Solution. Suppressing a yawn, she spared a single glance back at Lily. The pair hadn't really spoken much since the start of the year. To be honest, Lily hadn't paid much mind to any of them.

From where he sat beside Lily, Snape gave Amaris a haughty smirk. Sneering back at him, Amaris sat back up in her chair normally and glared at her textbook. Remus took note of the change in her attitude and peered over at her worriedly. She simply shook her head and began angrily taking down the notes Slughorn was scrawling on the board. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the class was over, and Amaris was the first one out of the room. As she stood beside the door, waiting for her friends, Snape and Lily exited the room together. They passed her by without a single glance, but Snape made sure to bump his shoulder into Amaris.

Still fuming, Amaris took a single step forward and pulled out her wand. Aiming it at Snape, she muttered the Relashio jinx. The books went tumbling out of Snape's grasp and scattered across the floor. As Lily bent down to help him pick them up, Lily threw a dark glare toward Amaris. "What the hell, Amaris?" she spat.

Crossing her arms across her chest, wand still in her grasp, Amaris just stared blankly back at Lily. "You should be asking that to your _good friend, _Snivellus. He shoulder checked me first."

Handing Snape's books back to him, Lily took a step closer to Amaris. "He bumped into you. You're always looking for a reason to pick on somebody, and usually it's Severus that just so happens to be in your line of fire." The rest of the Gryffindors finally made their way through the door just as Amaris took a step forward, jabbing a single, pale finger at Lily. Taking note of the crowd, Remus, James, and Sirius knew this could be anything but good.

"So, because I fight back, I'm the bad guy, right? You've lost your marbles, Lily. You defend him knowing full well what he's really like toward the people you _used _to call your friends." At this point, Sirius jumped in, placing a hand on Amaris' shoulder and pulled her back from Lily.

He leaned in close to her and whispered "'Maris, this isn't the time to be causing a scene. Not right outside a classroom." Deflating, Amaris let her brother pull her back toward Remus, James, and Peter. She tucked her wand back into its rightful place as Sirius led her away.

That was until Lily made her last remark. "Just because your family were all Slytherins and turned out crazy doesn't mean Severus will too. You act more like them than he does." At this, Sirius quickly released his hold on Amaris and together, the twins started forward, preparing to grab their wands. Behind them, there was a series of slams as both James and Remus dropped their books and rushed forward, grabbing both of the Blacks in a bear hug.

Amaris fought hard against Remus' hold as she wanted to get her chance at Lily. She took what Amaris had told her earlier that year and thrown it back in her face. That hurt more than anything she could've done. The twins could do nothing but watch as Severus and Lily disappeared down the hallway. Before the pair was calm enough for Remus and James to release them, Professor Slughorn stepped out of his room and took notice of the dispersing crowd and the still raging twins being restrained. "Oh my, what is going on here?" When nobody said anything, Slughorn just assumed the worst. "All four of you, detention, and five points from Gryffindor for roughhousing in the hallway." Amaris slumped back against Remus, and James finally released Sirius. They let out a collective groan and acknowledged their Professor before he disappeared back into his room.

Amaris righted herself, and Remus finally relinquished his hold on her before turning to gather his books from the floor. He was surprised to see Peter already had them for him and graciously accepted them from his friend. Books now tucked under his arm, Remus gave an annoyed glance at the trio. "I can't believe you roped me into getting detention . . . again," he sighed.

Rolling her eyes, Amaris flashed him a wide smirk. "Careful now Remus, a few more of those, and we might have to start calling you a certified bad boy." They all laughed at Remus' appalled expression. The smile fell from Amaris' face, and she turned around, walking backward, so she could face her friends. "I hope you all realize that this means war."

James and Sirius cheered in agreement. "Nobody insults our family, but us," Sirius muttered. "And nobody gets to compare either of us to that lot."

"Next time I see Snape, I swear I'm going to light him on fire," Amaris said, grinning evilly.

Remus fixed his friend with a serious stare. "Amaris, that's much too dangerous." Amaris pouted, but before she could form a rebuttal, Remus continued on. "Grease fires are extremely hard to put out." They all broke out into howling laughter and made their way to Charms.


End file.
